IPWA shop for N350m for expansion

By Peter Egwuatu
Shareholders of IPWA Plc have been assured of a better future as the company concludes the plans to source for funds to grow its business from the Bank of Industry.

Speaking at the company’s 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at America Best Hotel (formerly Gateway Hotel) Ota, Ogun State on Monday, Engr. Sulaimon Tella, Managing Director/CEO of IPWA disclosed that the the fund will help the company source adequate raw materials to meet up with unending demand from its customers.

According to him “It is unfortunate that a company that has an installed capacity of 12,000 litres of paint per day could not even produce this volume per month”, Tella noted.

Tella said the challenge steering the company in the face is that of funding as there is ready market for its products.

“We have pending orders for paints worth about N255million which we have not been able to meet. The funding which we are expecting before the end of the year from the Bank of Industry which is also a shareholder in the company will help us meet with demand in the market and come back to profitability”.

IPWA declared a loss after tax of N4million compared to a profit of N21.5million declared in the preceding financial year ended December 31, 2008.

Chief Bamidele Daniyan, chairman of IPWA told shareholders that ‘ our company suffered severe blows from the financial institutions, especially our main bankers. Our overdraft facilities were cancelled during the year thus making us inoperable for close to six months.

This situation resulted in leaving orders running into several hundred millions of naira subserviced’.

The company is however optimistic of cancelling its loss in the financial year while it is hopeful of declaring profit and paying dividend to shareholders in the next couples of years as it deploys judiciously the fund it is expecting from BOI.Meanwhile the Board of the company has been fortified with two fresh directors who are expected to attract good fortune to its business.

The two new fellows are Otunba Olumide Osunsina and Lt. Col. Abubakar Maimalari.